Imagine a room full of women who either already work in hockey or are aspiring to hold a role within the sport. That’s what the Women In Hockey Summit hosted by Sports Girls Club was like and it was the most incredible experience for everyone in attendance for a variety of reasons.
On Dec. 6, Sports Girls Club hosted their annual Women In Hockey Summit with the New Jersey Devils and women from all over the world came to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey to attend the event.
Courtesy of Sports Girls Club
The day started with four panels that featured many influential women in hockey across many different aspects of the industry. The first panel featured NHLVice President of Information Technology Carol Dann, founder of Stathletes Meghan Chayka and NHL ESPN Reporter Emily Kaplan. The second panel featured New Jersey Devils Assistant General Manager Kate Madigan, New York Sirens Director of Business Operations Daria Iglow and PWHL Vice President of Growth, Strategy and New Ventures Jayne Bussman-Wise. The third panel consisted of New Jersey Devils Youth Foundation Executive Director Kate Whitman Annis, New Jersey Devils Vice President Controller Jasmine Yee and New Jersey Devils Human Resources Manager Sydnay Jordan. And the final panel highlighted three New York Sirens players Jill Saulnier, Elle Hartje and Jessie Eldridge.
The panelists all offered helpful insight for women who would like to work in sports, gave details about their journeys to get where they are in their careers and answered questions from the audience. Hearing from a wide range of successful women who all work in hockey, but in different parts of the industry was inspiring and eye opening.
And while many of the attendees couldn’t believe they were listening to some of the most well known leaders when it comes to women in hockey, several of those incredible women who were panelists felt the same way about being at an event like the Women In Hockey Summit.
“It’s almost super humbling. Just seeing the women I was on the panel with, being referred to as a leader… I still have imposter syndrome, I’m 34 years old, I think I’m a lot younger than I am and I’m like ‘Do I really belong in this group?’ but it’s also really inspiring,” said Kaplan. “Looking into the crowd and seeing how many young women are here that want to get into the industry and are investing their time to do this and to be here today, is really gratifying and I’m so, so honored to be a part of it.”
“It’s still a little surreal because I feel like I’m still in high school and college, but I’m not. A little reality check. For me, we never had these growing up in high school or college. I think it’s amazing just to hear from a breath of different women of the different opportunities. It’s not just hockey, it’s the (Devils) Youth Foundation, it’s the PWHL, it’s marketing, it’s finance. There’s different avenues,” said Madigan. “Women are in all areas of the sport so just learning that and kind of giving people awareness in these young women early so they can start thinking about it. I didn’t start thinking about it until I was 26 so they’re going to be way ahead of me.”
There was a networking mixer that followed the inspirational panels which featured companies and organizations such as Madison Square Garden, Columbia University and the New York Sirens. Attendees got the chance to mingle with others at the event, gauge interest in jobs available in sports and to take incredible pictures at the available photo booth as well.
One of the coolest moments of the evening happened at the happy hour hosted at Redd’s Biergarten across the street from Prudential Center before game time. Seattle Kraken Assistant Coach Jessica Campbell stopped by to meet and take pictures with all the attendees. Campbell is the first female coach in the NHL and has become a huge role model for other women in sports, especially in hockey. It was beyond incredible getting to meet her at the event.
The Devils were taking on the Kraken for this game and attendees got to watch the thrilling game as part of their ticket to the Women In Hockey Summit.
Prior to puck drop, some attendees got the opportunity to shadow individuals who work in various departments with the New Jersey Devils and others got the unbelievable experience of being in the tunnel to give fist bumps to the team as they went out for warmups. These unique moments just added to how amazing the entire event was. Another cool part of the night was Sports Girls Club being the group of the game so during the first intermission, the leadership team got to be on the jumbotron in Prudential Center.
The game was a bit of a back and forth affair, but the Devils came out on top with the 3-2 win. After the victory, all attendees got to go on the ice to take a group picture which was another rare, but cherished experience to be walking on an NHL rink right after a game.
“The event was absolutely amazing,” said Tessa Pofahl, one of the event’s attendees. “It was so inspiring to hear from so many women of all different fields in the business. There was so much reassurance in what they said that empowered me to keep chasing my dreams.”
All in all, the Women In Hockey was an unforgettable event for everyone in attendance and one that will be remembered for a long time.
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